Conflict resources are natural resources (i.e., resources that exist without the actions of humankind) that are found in geographic regions termed “conflict zones” and are often sold to finance armed conflict and civil wars. An example of a conflict resource is a conflict mineral. The most common conflict minerals include columbite-tantalite (i.e., coltan), cassiterite, wolframite, and gold. Coltan is the metal ore from which the elements tantalum and niobium are extracted, cassiterite is the main ore needed to produce tin, and wolframite is a source of the element tungsten. Another conflict mineral is microlite, which is another ore from which tantalum is extracted. One particular region in which conflict minerals have been mined and sold in order to perpetuate conflict is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law in the United States in 2010 and requires U.S. and certain foreign companies to report and make public their use of conflict minerals from the DRC and its surrounding countries (e.g., Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo Republic, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) in their products. A similar law has been passed in Europe, but it extends to all countries rather than just the DRC and adjoining countries. The U.S. Conflicts Minerals Law requires independent third party supply chain traceability audits and reporting of audit results to the public and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In order to comply with the auditing and reporting requirements and ensure that companies are not using conflict minerals in their products, an accurate, reliable method for identifying the geographic origin of a mineral (e.g., the mine site or mine sites from which it is sourced) to ensure that it is a conflict-free mineral would be useful as first step in the processes involved in making various products that include materials prevalent in geographic regions of conflict.
Because many electrolytic capacitors include valve metals, where there is a risk that such valve metals have been sourced from geographic regions where conflict is present, a need exists for an electrolytic capacitor and a method of making thereof, where it can be verified that the valve metal is sourced from a conflict-free mine site.